In an interview with "CBS Evening News" anchor, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson discusses what's driving disparities between different areas of the city, and what officials are doing to address them.

Chicago

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson outlined his administration's approach to addressing the city's decades-old life expectancy gap, which is primarily driven by homicides and drug overdoses. Johnson reported that under his leadership, homicides have decreased by 30% and drug overdoses by 34%, with a total reduction of 40% since he took office in 2023.

Johnson emphasized a shift in focus toward investing in historically underserved neighborhoods, prioritizing youth employment, education, healthcare, and mental health services. He highlighted the importance of combining immediate investments with efforts to address crime and drugs, and expressed confidence that continued collaboration and strategic partnerships will improve life expectancy for all Chicagoans.

Chicago mayor on what he's doing about life expectancy disparities

That's what we find out in a grand urban experiment like Chicago. We are joined now by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, a Democrat, a former social studies teacher here in Chicago, as well as a former member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners. Mayor Johnson's been in office since 2023. Hey, thank you very much for joining me. Of course. Thanks for having me and happy new year. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. So you just saw that piece. This problem of the life expectancy gap is decades old, long predates you. Why hasn't government been able to step in and fix it? Well, first of all, it is a real problem and we are working hard under my administration to address it. What is driving that life expectancy gap? It's homicides and it's drug overdose, right? We've reduced homicides this last year by 30%. We've reduced drug overdose by 34%, a total of 40% reduction since I've been in office. I'm confident as we continue to do the work that's necessary to invest in these communities, we can improve the quality of life for all of Chicagoans. But you're someone who's lived here for your whole life. You live on the West Side now and you're in public service. What is the explanation for residents who have known about this, as you just heard, for 30 years or more? You come along, you've got a plan. How come no one else fixed it already? Well, part of the problem is we've had leadership that has focused on neighborhoods like the Loop and we've seen that at every level, whether it's local, state, the federal level. And unfortunately, not enough attention in neighborhoods like West Garfield Park or Austin, where I live on the West Side of Chicago, or on the South Side in neighborhoods like Englewood. But we have transformed essentially how we are approaching leadership in this moment by focusing our attention in the neighborhoods that need these critical investments, whether it's youth employment, of course, or whether it's education, whether it's healthcare, particularly mental healthcare. That's what my focus has been. And unfortunately, for a very long time, every level of government has focused on neighborhoods that, quite frankly, do not need the type of investments that West Garfield Park and neighborhoods like that across the country deserve. What I learned from the doctor today there is that the quality of life that people are living in West Garfield Park, historically, contributes to the lower life expectancy. It's a harder life, more disease, and people die sooner. The lack of resources is a big part of that. Well, what comes first? Do you have to clear out the drugs and the crime, and then the investment comes? Or does the investment come, and that clear, you know what I mean? Yeah, no, look, that's a great question. Look, it's a combination of both, right? Look, the neighborhoods that deserve investment in education, in healthcare, in housing, we have to do that now. But of course, we have to address, you know, these, you know, decades-old challenges that have been ignored for a very long time. And so that's why we have done, you know, what the strategic partnership around policing and affordable housing, policing and youth employment, policing and mental healthcare services. By taking that full force of government approach, it allows for us to address the critical issue, the immediate need, while setting us up for long-term viability. What was interesting is everyone I talked to today said, do you think we're finally at last at the beginning of the end of this problem? And people were not sure. The answer was yes. What's your answer? Well, look, I mean, I believe we're obviously headed in the right direction. I mean, we have a little more work to do. You know, it would be great if we had partners at the federal level. We know the Trump administration just cut $2 billion away from mental healthcare services. That's problematic. We're investing in mental health. So I believe that we are, you know, at the beginning of a transformation, and I'm confident if we continue to come together, we'll see the type of life expectancy for all of Chicagoans that we can be proud of. Mayor, thank you very much. I appreciate your time.

Republicans in the Senate killed a resolution on Wednesday that would have put limits on President Trump's ability to take action in Venezuela. Vice President JD Vance had to step in to break the 50-50 tie.

Washington

Venezuela Strikes

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Vance and Rubio meet with officials from Greenland and Denmark

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Sikhio District

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Tehran

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Ottawa

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Bill Clinton skips Epstein deposition on Capitol Hill

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Vero

Ex-Corsican nationalist leader Alain Orsoni killed at mother's funeral

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Paris

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London

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Minnesota

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Mexico City

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New Delhi

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Los Angeles

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Minneapolis

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Las Vegas

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